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10/31/2007

To make up for my recent slack in blogging, I've officially committed to NaBloPoMo. I unofficially participated last year, but in looking back over my November archive, I realized that I missed a day (Tuesday, November 28th), so I failed. Even though I posted twice a couple of days, that doesn't count. Must.post.every.day.

Since October seems to have whizzed by, with me barely catching my breath between my birthday, which was 30 days ago, and today, Halloween, I have a lot of things I can potentially write about. Hopefully, I can pull it together and not just end up sending grainy cell phone photos to the blog every other day. I imagine that's cheating.

10/23/2007

My sister, who lives quite far away from me, checked in to see if E and I were anywhere near the fires that are consuming homes and land throughout Southern California. Just in case any other long distance friends or relatives are reading here* and are concerned, please rest assured that we are pretty much out of harms way. We're just dealing with thick, smoky air, very dry conditions and subsequent headaches and nosebleeds. Small potatoes compared to having to evacuate and then possibly lose your home. Living in Valley suburb does have its benefits.

*I've heard rumors that there are some of you lurking about. Feel free to leave a comment every now and again. Months ago, I changed my settings so anyone can comment (you do not need a Blogger account) and you don't have to type in that pesky verification word.

10/21/2007

What do you people do on weekends? I do a lot of fun things, but clearly I'm missing something. E produced two fantastic events this weekend, one free and one a mere $10. While the turnout was okay, it was not at all what we had worked for or hoped to have. That being said, the events themselves went smoothly and those who did attend* gave positive feedback. I just can't help but wonder what really outstanding things I missed by being there to help him pull off a film fest and a drive-in movie.

I know it's tough in a city like Los Angeles to get people to pick one particular cool thing over another to do. There are a lot of choices. It's just a little disappointing to pour your heart, soul, and money into something that very few friends attend. Especially those who promise they'll be there and then don't show or call. There are a lot of excuses...I've heard them all...and some are actually valid. That's okay though. We always try to support friends and will continue to come to you screenings, plays, art openings, etc. No hard feelings. Just wonderment.

So, maybe there will be no 5th annual Short Screams Film Festival. Or maybe we'll take the advice of having naked women. Because nude chicks always pack the house, right? And the talking bunny isn't enough.

*Thank you, thank you, thank you to those of you who did show up! It is really appreciated and hopefully you had a great time!

10/08/2007

My photos from dog camp are finally uploaded. Yep, lots of dogs, trees, lakes, more dogs. Boring as hell for some of you. So don't look. Rusty and I have spent a lot of time together the past couple of weekends, doing some fun things. Hopefully, he'll write about it on his blog, which has been neglected for quite some time now.

Suddenly, we are going to lots of free movie screenings again. Last week we saw 3:10 To Yuma, which I thought was FANTASTIC. It was followed by a Q&A with the director, producer, editor, costume designer, and a few others. We also took in a new adaptation on Sleuth, which screened at the Pacific Design Center. That in itself was pretty cool. Even cooler though was the Q&A after the film with director Kenneth Branagh! I didn't hate the movie, but I think I enjoyed the conversation following more. Coming up this week is Eastern Promises. Viggo is not scheduled to be there, but David Cronenberg is. Skipping book club for that one. Oh yeah.

I mentioned before that October is incredibly busy and it is. This week alone we have at least one film, a concert, two theater events, and a museum exhibit.* We are also trying to get the house in order for an impending family visit. With so much going on, I don't even have time to tell you about who I met at an art event yesterday. I will say that she is on Flight of the Conchordsand has an adorably bizarre internetseries that I love. Now, I just need to meet Bret and "Murray."

We discovered our favorite pumpkin patch is open again this year (it was closed in '06), so we are going to try to squeeze that in sometime this month too. Bring on the candy corn! I need energy!

*The movie is free, one of the theater events is half-price, and the concert tickets were bought with some rewards points and were very inexpensive. Lest you think we are suddenly well off.

10/03/2007

I am happy it's October. It always starts out good, being that my birthday is on the first. I kind of wanted to do something similar to last year, meaning take in a movie at the Arclight and eat some chicken 'n waffles. Well, the latter part of the plan worked out and may just become my yearly birthday tradition. I can't really see eating like that more than once a year. Well, I can, but I shouldn't. It's been seven years since I had a big party for my birthday and probably even longer since I've had a smaller gathering, so maybe next year I'll do it up. Or wait a few years for THE BIG ONE.

I love autumn, pumpkins, candy corn, Halloween. It was lovely to see the leaves starting to turn this past weekend. It's going to be a very busy month involving family, cleaning, friends, music, film, art, volunteer work, and of course sweets and costumes. One thing I don't have to stress about is either of my costumes this year. We are doing something at work that we did about 10 years ago and I still have the key elements. E and I will be wearing costumes we devised for another occasion earlier this year. I'm just hoping mine still fits. I guess I'd better lay off the candy corn.

10/01/2007

We go through thisevery year. The debate over Little Guy's age. He is 11 today, not 12. I pulled out the original paperwork from the shelter that estimates he was born in 1996. Of course, it's all just guess work. For all we know he could be 15 or 8. It doesn't really matter. I just want him to be around for many more years to come.

I went ahead and left the original post from this morning below.How many is 12?

Apparently, it's how old my Little Guy is, as of today. I've been saying all year that he is 10 and would be turning 11 today, but once again, I am very wrong about this. I'm not sure what it is about his age that I can't get right. I guess I'm just in denial that he's getting up there in years. Being 12 explains the increased problems with his hips this past year, including his need to start using steps to climb onto the bed. He's not as stubborn as 15 year old Cosette, who just doesn't bother getting up on the bed anymore. Little Guy needs to be with his humans.

When I got home from my mountain getaway with Rusty last night, Cosette could not have cared less. She just stared at me, but happily took the special treat I brought for her. On the other hand, Little Guy greeted me with an enthusiastic happy dance and then proceeded to hop up on my lap (no stairs required) and nuzzled his bunny soft head under my chin. If you can get past his dragon breath, this move is sure to melt your heart.

P.S. It is my birthday today too and I definitely know how old I am. I felt it while hiking in high altitude this weekend for sure!